Gas Meter Going Backwards ( slightly OT)

[Stuart B]

I'm with EDF and give meter readings online .I got an e-mail a couple of days ago asking for a reading and when i noted it I noticed it was a lower reading than the last one I had given and when I checked my account it was actually lower than the previous one as well. It is now at 2389 and the previous ones were 2488 and 2445 . I'm as sure as I can be that I read them correctly and even if I didn't I'd have had to make a mistake twice . I called them to give the latest reading and he said to check it ( which I was going to do anyway ) and get in touch if it drops again ...I'll bet I get a Meter Reader out soon anyway . Am I going mad or is it possible to have a Gas Meter go backwards ?

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[Andy Cap]

I don't know the answer, but I hope you're charging them. ;-)

Andy C

[Frank Erskine]

On Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:38:36 +0100, Stuart B had this to say:

Perhaps the recent warm weather has caused your heating system to work in reverse and pump gas back into the pipes.

[R]

Theoretically it's the difference between the 2 readings that is the calculated usage so they get their money either way the thing rotates.

[Roger Mills]

How did you come to that conclusion?

What happens if the supplier (over-)estimates one of the readings such that the next genuine reading is *less* than the previous estimate? By your method, the consumer would have to pay *again* for the difference rather than receiving the rebate to which he was entitled!

[chrisj.doran]

I'm surprised they haven't assumed it had gone all the way round and charged you for nearly 10,000 units. Wasn't there someone here the other day who'd been told his meter was going round the clock 3 times between readings? (Which sounded rather a lot to me.) What were you using gas for in the above periods? Heating, or hot water/cooking only? The advice is the same as to him: read it weekly or even daily, and see if that makes more sense.

Chris

[Mark]

My supplier won't accept readings lower than the previous ones.

[Stuart B]

I have been sending online readings for the past 3 months as I thought it easirer to keep track of my useage month by month ...Because of the weather recently it's only been Hot Water and cooking one meal a day

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[Stuart B]

I actually thought he was taking the piss when he [osted that suggestion ..Maybe not .Like you I don't see how they could do that .

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[Toby]

Seems quite odd to me!

Has anything changed with the meter from the time it seemed normal, and now (Including the person reading it!)

Is one with a digital numbers display, or little dials?

Toby...

[Dave Liquorice]

rotates.

estimate?

No mention of estimates, only "readings".

However a system that accepts a new reading lower than the previous reading is broken.

[Stuart B]

Nope.Other than using a lot less gas because of the weather .

If you mean "little dials with pointers" then it's not like that . It's like a car mileometer with the 4 wheels plus the 2 red numbers to the side . It was 2389 + 13 before and now it is 2389+18 so it seems to be going in the right direction .....It could,of course,be quite simple like me misreading it two months in succession.

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[nightjar]

There should be a pawl and ratchet mechanism to stop the meter reversing. You will have to answer the other part of the question yourself.

Colin Bignell

[ARWadsworth]

Sorry Stuart B for pinching your thread.

Last year at work a gas meter reader arrived just as I was loading my tools into a customers house. The owner went into shock. He was up to no good. He decided that refusal of entry to the reader would mean an investigation so he let him in to read the meter.

It turned out that the customer used to swap his meter with a stolen meter every three months to save on gas bills and the stolen meter was the one been used when the reader arrived.

When I spoke to the customer later on he was delighted to inform me that an actual meter reading instead of an estimated one gave him a £200 refund to his bank account.

Adam

[molley222]

[molley222]

So the meter is not going backwards then its cos you are a dumb moron who cant read a meter.

Outstanding

[Andrew Mawson]

seems

moron

So how long were you in the diplomatic service?

AWEM

[Stuart B]

Read my signature Andrew

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[molley222]

Why no one other than you gives a fig what the sig says

The meter is not going backwards - you're words

You are still a moron who cannot read meters

Go to specsavers

Outstanding

[ARWadsworth]

It took me a will but yes, I think I know.

Adam